“North Korean army against Ukraine: Pyongyang’s motives explained in NYT October 17, 03:38 Share: In the Far East, 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are preparing for war in Ukraine (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS) After the end of the Korean War, North Korea did not take an active part in other major conflicts, but systematically tried to sell weapons and provide military aid to its allies. The war in Ukraine was no exception. As reported”, — write on: ua.news
In the Far East, 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are preparing for war in Ukraine (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS)
After the end of the Korean War, the DPRK did not actively participate in other major conflicts, but systematically tried to sell weapons and provide military aid to its allies. The war in Ukraine was no exception.
According to The New York Times, North Korea already sent its pilots to support North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and also helped Egypt during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. In 2016, North Korean missile equipment and two small units participated in the conflict in Syria on the side of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“This has become a certain tradition: when the DPRK sold weapons to countries in conflict, it also sent its specialists to help with their use, and sometimes to participate in hostilities,” says Jan Uk, an expert at the Institute for Policy Studies “Asan” in Seoul. According to him, if Pyongyang decides to send troops to Ukraine, it will be North Korea’s first major war in decades, providing an opportunity for its officers to gain experience in modern warfare using drones.
It is also known that Russian troops use North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles. According to Yang Moo Jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, Pyongyang is gathering data on the effectiveness of these missiles on the battlefield to improve them and make them more attractive to potential buyers. Similar missiles can become a key element of the weapons that North Korea can use in the event of a conflict with South Korea.
Analysts suggest that North Korea’s main contribution to the Russian-Ukrainian war may be sending engineers and advisers to help operate and improve weapons. At the same time, there are doubts that the DPRK will deploy a significant number of troops in the near future. Political scientist Park Won-gon of Ihwa University believes that such an operation would require careful preparation by both sides, similar to the joint military exercises regularly held by South Korea and the United States.
Involvement of the DPRK in the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
On June 18, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang to meet with dictator Kim Jong Un. It was Putin’s first visit to the capital of North Korea since 2000.
During the meeting, Putin and Kim Jong-un signed an agreement on a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, seeking to expand economic and military cooperation and strengthen “united front” against Washington. According to the agreement, the Russian Federation and the DPRK undertook to provide “mutual assistance” in case of “aggression” against one of the countries.
On October 4, The Times, citing Western intelligence, reported that half of the approximately three million artillery shells used by Russia come to the aggressor from North Korea.
On October 8, the Yonhap News agency published a statement by South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who said that North Korea is likely to send its troops to Ukraine to support Russia.
Earlier, a number of Ukrainian mass media, citing intelligence sources, reported that as a result of a missile attack on the territory occupied by the Russian Federation near Donetsk on October 3, more than 20 military personnel, including six officers from North Korea, were killed. Three more servicemen of the DPRK were wounded.
On October 16, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the DPRK is handing over people to Russia for military operations against Ukraine and for work at factories.